If you are a fan of window shutters, you’ll probably have to spend some time researching before taking your final decision. That’s mainly because there are several types of window shutters, each of them serving a precise purpose.

Roller Shutters vs. Plantation Shutters

While exterior roller shutters can successfully serve as security or storm shutters, we can’t say the same about plantation shutters, which are rather suitable for areas where the weather is calm and hot. Some people even mount their plantation shutters instead of glass window panes, so you can imagine they aren’t so protective in case of strong winds or stormy weather.

Roller shutters, on the other hand, are extremely solid, sturdy, and suitable for offering security to your home, even when you’re out for vacation. They are usually installed on the exterior of the windows and they can be operated from the inside via an endless cord or a remote controlled motor attached to the shutter.

Plantation shutters can’t offer complete blackout, because of the way they are designed. The central rod allows the slats to tilt, but not completely, therefore there will always be some light entering the room through these slats. On the contrary, when completely closed, exterior roller shutters will offer total darkness, so you can enjoy your home cinema system or you can take an afternoon nap as if it was midnight.

What you need to know if you have arched windows: plantation shutters may be much more appropriate for such shapes, because they are more versatile and can be cut to rounded shapes. Roller shutters are more difficult in this respect, because they need to be rectangular, as they have to roll in the upper cassette, therefore your arched windows won’t be visible from the side where the roller cassette is installed, be it in the interior or on the exterior of the building.

Therefore, when choosing the type of window shutters, make a list with all your priorities, then see which ones are more important. If you have arched windows, you’ll probably want them to be visible, so you’ll have to discuss your available options with the window treatments specialists.

Top down bottom up shades are one of the fanciest innovations when it comes to home improvement. Their beauty resides in the fact that they can be either lifted from bottom to the top, like common window blinds we all know from ages, or they can be lowered from top to bottom, creating a look similar to those cafe curtains for country style kitchens. This is a very useful option, because it gives you the possibility to benefit from privacy and still enjoy the morning sky while still in bed. Almost any type of window treatments can be transformed into top down bottom up: shades of all kinds, from Roman to pleated shades, or Venetian blinds.

Brands of top down bottom up shades and blinds

As this type of shades is very appreciated by a lot of customers, almost all big names in window treatments have them in their portfolio.

Hunter Douglas has the Duette 3/4″ and 3/8″ Single Cell Opaque or Semi-Opaque, the Applause cellular shades and the Brilliance Pleated Shades, in either Venetian Crinkle or Haberdasher versions. One interesting model from Hunter Douglas is the Provenance Woven Woods – basic bamboo blinds with of top down bottom up, or a few more expensive versions from the same product range.

Bali blinds come with the Bali Diamond Cell 3/8” Double Cell Semi-Opaque (Northern Lights and Storm), or the Single Cell Light Filtering (Solitaire), the beautiful Bali Natural Shades Basic with top down bottom up option, or the Bali Standard Pleat Crepe or Spectrum.

If you want to go as cheap as possible and yet enjoy modern, beautiful windows and home decor, you can save a few dollars per window by going for generic top down bottom up shades, available from many retailers and online stores.

Hillary’s Venetian blinds are made of high quality aluminum, specially treated to prevent UV degradation, meaning that their color doesn’t fade or change with time. This is an important edge especially if your windows are exposed to sunlight for more than a few hours a day. For example, if your windows are facing South, it’s most probable that they benefit a lot from the daylight, as they are almost never in the shadow. On the contrary, rooms with windows facing North will be the darkest in a home, so you may not need special, expensive window treatments, because sun and UV rays won’t cause too much damage.

One of the qualities Hillary’s take pride in when it comes to their Venetians is versatility. Besides the possibility of choosing between four widths of slats, 15 mm, 25 mm, 35 mm and 50 mm, you can easily match them with your furnishings, thanks to the wide array of fabric colors and shades available. For instance, one of the best choices for a bedroom are the Blue Venetian Hillary’s blinds, because of the tranquility they suggest and because of their good level of privacy, yet letting enough light into the room. Another aspect of the versatility of these horizontal blinds is the possibility to fit them to skylight and roof windows.

Pricing can be determined only after discussing with a Hillary’s blinds consultant, because all their window treatments, awnings and shutters are made to measure and they come with a large choice of control options, trims, poles or other accessories. This is why a price given before knowing more details wouldn’t be too exact. There’s an example on Hilarys blinds official website: a lady who paid as little as 144 pounds, which is probably less than $300 for Venetian blinds for her dining room, kitchen and bathroom. There are no details on how big her windows were, but yet you can make yourself an idea of what would it mean to buy Hillary’s Venetian blinds for your windows.